The Adventures of Tintin, Vols. 1-5

C'est Magnifique!
I ordered The Adventures of Tintin from Amazon, but I got Les Adventures De Tintin. Not to worry. These DVDs include an English language audio track. I suspect there is no set labelled in English, since this beautiful creation comes courtesy of Nelvana studios in Ontario, Canada. But this box set is an embarrassment of riches; American DVDs should be packaged so well! Within the box are five DVDs, each with their own slipcases, with two episodes per DVD.

As Tintin fans know who may have caught these shows in their brief run on TV, Nelvana has done everything right. Somehow the characters seem right out of Herge's popular comics, which have sold over 200 million copies worldwide. Nelvana wisely refrained from updating the stories, so the first episode, "Destination Moon" takes place before the lunar landings, retaining the period feel of Herge's comic. This blue box containing vols. 1-5 has a companion red box with vols. 6-10. With the two boxes side by side the DVD jackets...

Best DVDs ever!
I got both Tintin DVD sets for Christmas and I LOVE LOVE LOVE them! I think I've seen each DVD, both in English and in French (it comes with both) at least 3 or 4 times.

Anyone who knows anything about the history of Tintin knows that he evolves all the time. The books we buy today are not the books that were originally published, are not the original strips that were first published in the Belgian Catholic newspaper in which Tintin was born. Everytime Tintin was changed, he was refined- he became less naive, more politically aware, more worldly (as opposed to Belgian). Whether you think this is a good or bad thing is up to you.

While these DVDs are not identical to the comic strips, I appreciate them for a few reasons. First, they're good, clean entertainment. They bring Tintin to life in a wonderful way. Plus, they're a great way to practice my French. You can watch these in English or French with English or French subtitles.

When I visited...

Something great from the past.
As a child growing up in Great Britain, I watched all episodes of Tintin during the sixties. Now I have bought this boxed set so that my children can see the show that I enjoyed so much. Now I see that the cartoons have been shortened. In 'Destination Moon,' Tintin and the others were supposed to travel to the moon in a rocket called XM1. But some bad guys took off in it, so Tintin and the others followed in a rocket called XM2. I clearly remember that, even after four decades. Somehow, that part was cut out. Even still, my children love the show as much as I did, so I give it five stars.

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